Reminiscence
by Cerebrate
Summary: A broken promise from Kaiba's dark past returns to haunt him. As he recovers from attempted assassination, two of the most unlikely people lend a hand to help. SxS
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: 

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Author's Note:

After a few months of doing other stuff, I'm finally back on track for writing stories… I think. Anyway, this story will be an intriguing mix of romance and humor and due to some profanity will be rated PG-13. I think that's all I have to cover…

REMINISCENCE

Chapter One: Prologue

By: UNKNOWN

            _Small sounds came from the little building in the center of the walls. Around the building, children played on the playground. Two children however, stood alone. One had short trimmed hair with piercing blue eyes, while the other had long black hair and large black eyes full of curiosity. The building was an orphanage, and the two children were known as Seto Kaiba and Mokuba Kaiba._

_            Many incidents occurred in this orphanage. As with all places, the predator must prey on the weak. The orphanage had its bullies, too- those conceited few who thought that they were better off than the rest. Of course, who better to pick on then the two seemingly loners? Kaiba was constantly abused and Mokuba made fun of. Supervisors never noticed, and if they did didn't seem to care. The entire orphanage was a rut._

_            Kaiba and Mokuba were inside one day, in the receptionist room. A woman around the age of thirty came by, with a little blonde boy about the same age as Kaiba and a younger brunette trailing by his side._

_            "Hello miss… last name?"_

_            "…Katsuya." Turning to her son, she said, "go play with the other children I'm going to be busy for a while okay?"_

_            The little boy nodded, and trotted over to where Kaiba and Mokuba sat. _

_            The boy's little sister went with her mom however, and disappeared around the corner._

_"Hi," the boy started._

_            Kaiba did not reply due to his cold nature, but Mokuba seemed happy to have someone to talk to. The two boys talked for a while and Kaiba's attention swerved to them when he heard Mokuba ask for the other boy's name._

_            "My name is…"_

_            "Kaiba! Mokuba!" The shrill voice of the supervisor filled the air. "What are you two boys still doing in here? You two should be outside… and this boy too," she said, referring to the blond boy at the end._

_            The three hopped out the door and out into the cold morning. Boys and girls were running all around, and the air was full of noise. The group of bullies standing in the middle of the playground seemed to have noticed them, but had not moved from their spot yet. The three boys went to the nearby slide, and sat under it. Mokuba and the blonde boy continued to talk, while Kaiba sat around doing nothing. _

_            "Hey Kaiba!" The annoying whiny voice could only belong to one of the bullies, whose names no one but the supervisors had bothered to learn. Kaiba was certain his name was something along the lines of Mike._

_            "Who's your little friend?" Mike asked, looking over to Mokuba and the little blond boy._

_            "None of your business," Kaiba snapped._

_            "Hey Kaiba! Was I talking to you? No… so shut up!"_

_            Mike's friends behind him laughed and Mike smiled. "So Mokuba, who's this blonde kid?"_

_            "I…I don't know his name yet."_

_            "But you've been talking to him for so long… haven't you asked for his name yet? Or were you too interested in trying to be friends than to get his name?"_

_            Mokuba formed the first words of a sentence on his lips, but made no sound as he looked down at the sand._

_            "Shut up!" Kaiba said again._

_            Mike smiled. "What're you going to do Kaiba? Beat me with your little fists?"_

_            Kaiba stood up, but being so short it didn't make much of a difference._

_            "Hey guys, I think he's mad!" Mike called to his friends, who responded with laughter._

_            Kaiba pushed off the sand and leapt onto the bully. Mike fell to the ground with a grunt as Kaiba began to punch. The first blow caught Mike in the nose and the second was stopped in midair. Mike shoved Kaiba down and threw him against a wall. Kaiba's head hit the wall and his nose began to bleed. Mike wiped his swollen nose, apparently relieved to have found no blood._

_            "Well Kaiba, I think its time I break one of your bones!"_

_            Mokuba began to cry in fright while the blonde boy got to his feet. Mike forced Kaiba down into the sand headfirst, then grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him. Kaiba grunted in pain and tears were forming in his eyes._

_            "S…stop!" Mokuba yelled._

_            "Like the pain Kaiba?" Mike asked._

_            Suddenly, Mike collapsed and groaned. The blonde boy had delivered a kick to the back of Mike's legs. He dropped his knee into Mike's back and pulled Mike's arm upwards, driving the knee deeper into his back._

_            "Ow! What the hell… ugh!"_

_            Mike's friends seemed not to care about him but were more interested in the fight. The blonde kid released Mike and stood back. _

_            "You…you little runt…" Mike growled, stretching his arm._

_            "Mike got beat by a little kid!" one of his friends crowed._

_            "Shut up!" Mike yelled back._

_            "Ha… well later loser!" they shouted._

_            "Huh? Where are you guys going? W-wait up!"_

_            Mike ran off to catch up with his group. The blonde kid stooped down and ruffled through Kaiba's brown hair. _

_            "You all right?" he asked._

_            Kaiba nodded, and pinched his nose in attempt to stop the blood from flowing. Mokuba sat by his side and clung onto one arm. _

_            "I'll get my sister. She likes this kind of stuff," the boy said, running off into the building._

_            "Brother… why did you hit him?"_

_            "I couldn't let him talk to you like that. No one's ever going to talk to you like that in front of my face and walk away without a fight."_

_            "Brother…"_

_            The blond boy returned, with his little sister behind him. _

_            "See sis? Here's the guy."_

_            The little girl got down and pulled out tissues from her pocket. One she told Kaiba to pinch his nose with, and the other she dipped in some water to wipe off the blood on his face. _

_            "There you go! You'll be fine now," the girl said, standing up._

_            Kaiba looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you," he said._

_            She nodded, then said, "How about if we come back every month? I'm sure we'll be good friends."_

_            Her brother nodded and they both looked at Kaiba and Mokuba._

_            "Of course. I owe you," Kaiba said to both siblings._

_            "You two! In the white and red shirts!"_

_            The two turned around, facing the supervisor. "Your mother is looking for you two. You guys have to leave."_

_            Looking at Kaiba's red tissue in confusion, she escorted the two back into the building. Kaiba and Mokuba tried to follow, but the supervisor cut them off. They ran to the gate nearest to the entrance instead. After a while, they saw a blue van slowly driving out of the lot._

_            The passenger window was open, and the little girl's brown hair flew all about due to wind. "We'll be back next month! I promise!" she cried, smiling._

_            "Wait! What's your name?" Kaiba yelled._

_            She managed formed the first syllable of her name before the van pulled away and her voice trailed off in the distance._

Closed eyelids opened with a start as Seto Kaiba flew out from beneath his blue bed sheets. His blue eyes surveyed the corners of his room and he sighed and slumped back down.

            _This flashback... I've been having piece by piece of it lately but just now I've had the entire event recalled…_

            He sighed. 

That boy and girl… I remember them from the orphanage. They said they were going to visit every month but they never came back after the first…

"Damn! What could this mean?" he muttered 

His voice echoed around the large room, and then silence followed. He sighed again, then closed his eyes.

_"Wait! What's your name?"_

_"Shi…"_

Well, I'm going to end the prologue here and see how you guys like it so far. This chapter will convey significance in the latter chapters so I thought it was best to leave the dream as its own chapter. Please review! 


	2. The Influx

Disclaimer:

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Author's Note:

Hurray! I finally finished failing my AP Euro test! What a waste of 82 dollars! Anyway…in response to MotherChowGoddess (thanks for the reviews by the way), I do not know what Kaiba's last name was so I left it Kaiba because I am horrible at creating names (i.e. Mike). And I'm sorry if the family name really is Jonouchi because when I was first interested in this anime, I thought it was Katsuya so I'm already used to calling them by that name, so just ignore that error. Also, I'm not used to using -san, -chan, and –kun so if I use one of them improperly please tell me! Something also appears to be wrong with my spacing/indenting....

REMINISCENCE

Chapter Two: The Influx

By: UNKNOWN

Sunlight poured through the open window in Kaiba's room, bringing light throughout the dank surroundings. The light revealed an empty bed, stained with faint traces of sweat and an unkempt blanket.

Seto Kaiba stood in from of the sink mirror, letting his arms rest on the counter as he drooped his head under the cool flowing water. Grumbling to himself, he remembered that he had a meeting today with the president of Exile Co., a company whose advanced technological products would greatly help boost the efficiency of KaibaCorp products.

Sighing, Kaiba made his way down to the dining hall, where breakfast was already prepared and his little brother Mokuba was happily feasting. Kaiba half-smiled at the sight of how happy his brother was, then he took a chair and picked up a fork.

  
Shizuka Katsuya awoke to the loud buzzing of her alarm clock. Without looking, she fumbled around the table next to her, looking for the off button. Her hand skimped around and knocked the alarm clock off, awaking her brother who was sleeping in the bed next to her.

"What the?" he asked groggily.

Shizuka smiled sheepishly, then rolled off her bed and shut off the alarm clock. She stood up and yawned, stretching her lean arms toward the ceiling. Jonouchi Katsuya sat up in bed and scratched his wild blonde hair sleepily. Stepping out of bed, he muttered to himself what a bad way of waking up this was and made his way to the kitchen.

Shizuka was staying at her brother's apartment for the time being, mostly because she had nowhere else to sleep. Jonouchi was in the kitchen, attempting to whip up breakfast. Shizuka sat at the counter and breathed in the smell of her brother's burnt breakfast.

"Why…can't…I…get it right!" Jonouchi yelled through gritted teeth, flipping through a cookbook. "It says right here: Heat for two minutes at 190 degrees!"

Mumbling to himself angrily, he dumped the burnt eggs and sausage onto a plate and passed it down to his amused sister. Light seeped through the parted curtains of the apartment, and brought light upon the young woman. She was no doubt very beautiful; short bangs hung from above her forehead and she had more sleek hair plastered down the sides of her face. Her straight auburn hair was let down to her mid-torso region, outlined by a slim, perfect body. Her skin was somewhat a creamy color, and her bright eyes did nothing to betray her innocent and kind face.

Her brother however, was somewhere near the opposite. His ruffled blond hair pretty much just went any which way it wanted, and in today's case it wanted to go to the right. His face seemed naturally rigid and solemn, but beneath the matted hair, his dark brown eyes hid traces of excitement and friendliness.

Unfortunately, there was not much to be excited about as Jonouchi promptly plopped back into bed.

"Brother, get up!"

Jonouchi groaned in reply and Shizuka tried to pull him out of bed.

"You're already up- why waste more time?"

Jonouchi tried to lift his head, but it bobbed back down like a doll's.

Shizuka flicked on the television to grab her brother's attention, then set him so that he was facing the television sitting on the bed.

"And in today's news, KaibaCorp CEO Seto Kaiba will be having a meeting with Karuden Ikasawa, president of Exile Co. in Tokyo to discuss further advancement of KaibaCorp technology… In health-related news, studies show that burned meals, especially breakfasts, can be bad – "

Jonouchi shut the television off.

"Psh, that Kaiba. How much more money does he want to make before he's happy?" he asked.

Shizuka said nothing and made her way into the bathroom. Outside, Jonouchi could hear the water from the sink running and a toothbrush grinding on teeth. His stomach growled and he sighed.

"Well, I suppose we should go out and eat then sis?" Jonouchi shouted.

He heard a muffled reply from Shizuka who evidently had the toothbrush shoved in her mouth.

While Jonouchi brushed his teeth above the sink, he thought, H_mm… maybe I could get Yugi, Honda and Anzu to come too…_

"So brother? How about we walk?" Mokuba asked, his long black hair bouncing up and down in rhythm with his small stature. 

Kaiba smoothed out his own hair with a hand, while observing Mokuba's hyperactive state.

"Mokuba, my meeting is ten miles away! If I were to walk I would be late," Kaiba said in a cold voice which usually meant he was ready to kick your ass if you didn't shut up.

Mokuba didn't seem to get the message though.

"Brother! There's a new arcade near the area where you're having your meeting! Want to drop me off there?"

"Fine! Stop… stop bothering me!" Kaiba yelled as Mokuba tried to tackle him.  
  
"I'm telling you guys, this arcade is so good!" Joey cried triumphantly as he drove recklessly downtown.

Yugi yawned loudly, his spiky afro waving back and forth in the wind and his blonde bangs flew all about. His large soft eyes gave him the innocent look of a child and he had a body to match.

"Why are we going to an arcade so early in the morning anyway?"

"'Because the doofus thinks he can beat my high score in… in… what was that racing game called?"

Honda put a finger to his forehead and stared up at the car roof in confusion. His dark brown hair was strangely bent at a 45-degree angle and almost scraped the roof. Although his face bore a goofy look and he seemed rather carefree, Honda was truly a loyal friend and a very caring person.

Jonouchi turned around to look at Honda, his eyes opened in fright.

"You forgot the name? B-but how are we supposed to find it?"

Honda snapped out of his macho pose and stared back at his longtime friend.

"I-I don't know! We'll never find it if we don't know the name!"

"Yeah!"

"I know!"

"Jonouchi! Watch out!" Anzu shrieked.

Jonouchi turned around to face the steering wheel and swerved just in time to avoid hitting… Kaiba?

Jonouchi hit the brakes, though regretfully, and looked up at the grim Kaiba, who was staring down at them with a puzzled look on his face. Looking past Kaiba, he could see the words "Pizzeria Arcade".

"Ah! We're here!" Joey said, stating the obvious.

Honda nodded whole-heartedly, agreeing with his dimwitted friend.

Anzu stepped out of the car, a couple beads of sweat rolling down the peachy skin on her forehead.

"Jonouchi! I'm never getting on the same car as you again!"

Jonouchi smiled and waved his hand as if to brush the event off.

"Sure Anzu… that's what you said last time."

"What are you guys and that mutt doing here?" Kaiba asked, making everyone jump. Everyone had already forgotten he was there.

"What? Whose a mutt?" Jonouchi asked angrily.

"What's this now? Dogs can talk? Interesting…"

"Wha-? Kaiba! I'll kick your ass right now!"

Jonouchi attempted to jump for Kaiba, but Honda and Yugi grabbed him by his arms and forced him back to the ground.

Anzu observed all of this from behind the car; she was afraid that she would vomit after Jonouchi's bad driving had caused a heavy textbook in the car to hit her in the stomach. Her mahogany bangs partially covered her eyes due to the position she was in, but even in her bent position, one could see the perfect curvature of her body and shapely legs.

"Anzu-san? What are you doing?" Shizuka asked, stepping out of the car. She had dozed off on the way to the arcade and apparently Jonouchi's yelling had woken her up.

She turned around and watched as Kaiba said something to her brother and laughed.

_That arrogant… _

Kaiba waved his hand lazily and made his way off.

Jonouchi still sat on the floor though, seemingly disappointed that Yugi and Honda had prevented him from beating Kaiba's ass.

"Brother, are you okay?" Shizuka asked, kneeling down to her brother's eye level.

Jonouchi nodded lazily, and Honda looked at Yugi in confusion.

"Uh… we'll be going in first then Jonouchi."

"Wait… where's Anzu?"

Anzu stumbled from behind the car, her face somewhat red, some sweat glistening on her pretty face, and heavy breathing, her mouth a thin line.

Yami nearly shot off the roof. Round, innocent eyes suddenly became piercing and dark.

Ah! Yugi- look! She has all the symptoms of- of being raped!

Yami fainted in the soul chamber and Yugi tried to snap him out of it.

/ No! Yami get up! You're still in control of my body! /

On the outside, everyone had turned to Yugi after they heard him shout 'No!' and then watched in amazement as his body seemed to go limp and he toppled to the floor.

"What happened Anzu?" Honda asked.

"Oh, don't worry," Anzu said, a smile forming on her lips. "I just felt like throwing up all of the sudden but nothing came out."

"Okay! Into the arcade!" Honda said loudly as he marched through the automatic doors, followed by Anzu who dragged an unconscious Yugi behind her.

"Brother… are you okay?" Shizuka pressed, placing her small delicate hand on her brother's broad shoulders. 

Jonouchi looked up at his sister, so much older and mature than the last time he had seen her.

"Shizuka," he said, slowly getting to his feet, "there won't be a day where I won't be well enough to watch my little sister grow into a beautiful little angel."

Shizuka giggled as her brother patted her on the shoulder, then proposed that they go into the arcade. Shizuka simply nodded and took one step before she heard a loud gunshot ring through the area.

Kaiba made his way past the mumbling mutt and towards the convention center where he was supposed to meet Karuden Ikasawa. 

Mokuba had tormented Kaiba to no end before he had agreed to drop off Mokuba _along with six friends_ at the arcade. But after more thought, Kaiba realized the center was only a seven minute walk. Wanting to see some civilians' reactions of a CEO such as himself walking down the street was a rather entertaining idea for Kaiba.

On his way down to the center, he couldn't help but smirk when he caught dozens of people around him gaping in surprise and awe. Kaiba swerved left and into a large alleyway, surrounded on both sides by apartment buildings. Past the alleyway, there would only be one more road to cross before getting to the center.

Kaiba was in deep thought before he heard a sudden loud creak from above. Looking up, he saw the silhouette of a man against the bright sky holding a… gun? Kaiba lifted his steel briefcase in defense as he ran, then heard a loud gun shot. Kaiba kept running but he seemed to be getting slower… Looking down, he saw that he had been shot in the hip region, with red blood quickly staining his white suit. Suddenly, pain began to fill his receptors and Kaiba dropped to the floor. Turning his body to face up, Kaiba could make out the man disappear into the door where he came from.

_So… the coward's going to run now is he?_

Kaiba cursed himself silently after he heard a door creak open and a masked man jump over the wall of the alleyway.

"Kaiba!" the man shouted in a deep voice. "I've always wanted to see an arrogant bastard like you lying helplessly on the floor!"

"What do you want?" Kaiba asked, looking into the eyeholes of the masked man.

"What do I want… what do _I _want? Don't you remember me at all?" the man mocked, taking off his mask.

A sharp nose was his first defining feature, followed by craggy eyebrows and large ears. He had a haircut which looked like he had shoved his hair into a lawnmower and a bunch of earrings. All in all, he was one hell of an ugly bastard.

"You don't remember me at all do you? Remember Kaiba? TRINET?"

_TRINET? _An image flashed before Kaiba's eyes.

"You… you're…"

"Oh yes! You remember now don't you Kaiba? I proposed my idea of TRINET to enhance computer processors within your filthy game machines! I was the one who went through hours of tireless labor to produce the blueprints and beta versions of the chip! And you went ahead and fired me before I could even patent the goddam thing because you claimed I was draining your resources! Almost a billionaire now aren't you, jackass? You said I was _draining_ your resources by spending five hundred thousand?"

The man kicked Kaiba in the gut, causing him to double over in pain.

"You ruined my life bastard! Now I got no family, no car, no job, nothing! And you know what? It's all your goddam fault!" he said through gritted teeth and gave Kaiba another kick.

Kaiba spat out some blood that was slowly trickling down the corners of his lips.

"At least before I go off and kill myself," the man said, putting his mask back on, "I'll be happy."

He pulled out his pistol again and aimed it at Kaiba's head.

Kaiba swallowed hard, looking into the psychotic eyes of his soon to be murderer. Getting ready though, Kaiba felt his left hand grip hard onto the handle of his briefcase.

"Kaiba!"

The masked man turned around, and behind him stood the mutt and his sister.

Kaiba grunted. He would rather die than have the mutt save him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jonouchi asked the masked man. "Playing Zorro?"

The man hardly had time to say anything before Kaiba wrenched his briefcase off the floor and smashed it into his face.

Jonouchi and Shizuka ran towards Kaiba, ready to tend his wounds…?

Kaiba's heart skipped a beat. His flashback from the morning superimposed itself upon what he was seeing now.

_A blonde boy and his sister…!_

However, the former Chief of Engineering of KaibaCorp wouldn't go down without a fight. Before he hit the floor with his broken nose and jaw, he felt his finger tighten on the trigger and a gush of red snaked itself along the path of dying yellow grass.

Sorry to leave you at that cliffhanger, but I've got to go take a nap or something soon before I fall asleep on the keyboard. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far and… well, I don't have much else to say. Please review! 


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